Rugby WA chairman John Welborn has dismissed fears that the Western Force could be the next Super Rugby franchise to fold, despite a radical restructure that will see billionaire owner Andrew Forrest scale step away as owner and a significant number of staff lose their jobs.
The Force is transitioning to a not-for-profit organisational structure after longtime benefactor Andrew Forrest announced earlier this year he would transfer ownership of the Perth-based side from his private investment company, Tattarang, back to Rugby WA.
Though Forrest later clarified that the move was prompted by a desire to unlock government money which had previously been unavailable due to his private backing of the Force, there were genuine fears that without the support of Tattarang, which has invested over $90 million into the franchise since 2017, it would not be able to survive.
Those fears were only exacerbated last week when the franchise held a town hall at Rugby WA headquarters to clarify details of the transition. Sources who attended the meeting said their explanations were not received well and left players and staff with more questions than answers.
But in a welcome development, this masthead can reveal Rugby WA is on the cusp of securing a multimillion-dollar deal with the Western Australian government believed to be worth more than $15 million over four years.
And in a further dose of good news, sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed Tattarang would match the government’s investment dollar for dollar, despite planning to transition out of the franchise completely by 2030.
While the government’s investment is tied to the Force remaining in the Super Rugby competition, Welborn said the looming announcement proved the future was bright for the franchise.
“I don’t think the future of the Western Force has ever been more certain than it is today,” Welborn told this masthead. “Rugby’s been around in WA for 133 years and I’ve got every confidence it’ll be around for another 133.
“The challenges with Super Rugby are across the country, but I’m confident that while the current Super Rugby structure is in place, there’ll be a team in WA and it’ll be funded appropriately. Rugby’s got a strong future in WA.”
Despite the announcement, not everyone is sold. Team sources point to the delay in finding replacements for CEO Niamh O’Connor, general manager Chris Goodman and head of operations Tyson Beattie since the end of the Super Rugby season. Those roles are expected to be filled over the next fortnight, including the annoucement of Rugby WA CEO Simon Taylor as the Force’s new boss.
But players and coaches also fear the strides made in 2026, when the Force beat the Reds and Waratahs home and away and finished one place outside the top six, are quickly being eroded.
Around a dozen jobs will be made redundant in the transition to Rugby WA ownership.
Welborn said it was unclear exactly how many jobs would go, but that the Force were not immune to the financial troubles domestic leagues were facing across the globe.
“Rugby generally has to fit within its budgetary limitations,” the former Test lock said. “One of the challenges for the Western Force over here is making sure we’ve got a really competitive program. We want to win, we want to have great competition, but we also have to fit within a budget.
“And you’ve seen Rugby Australia effectively recut the budgets of the Waratahs and the Brumbies, and they’ve done that in a way that has continued to support positive on-field performance. We now need to do the same thing over here.
“Yes, there will be changes in the structure of the Western Force. We think they’re going to be positive.”
Asked if he was concerned about backroom staff, including strength and conditioning experts, switching to the Perth Bears, Welborn said it was no surprise that the NRL’s new 18th side was looking within the city to fill roles.
“If you’re the rugby league and you’re coming into this market and you’re looking for a fitness coach, well, one of the first people who’d apply or look for – and they’ve got a bigger budget than us, I assume they do – would be to look at the Western Force,” he said. “So that’s a challenge for the Western Force. But it’s also an opportunity for renewal.”
Welborn acknowledged that more needed to be done to increase the average crowd at Force home games. He said bringing through more homegrown talent would help.
“You bring amateur rugby and professional rugby together, and you look at the season, you structure games accordingly, you create transport opportunities, you create curtain raiser opportunities, you create more rugby pathways,” he said,
“We need to raise the level of our community game. For 20 years we’ve tried to bring the professional game down into community rugby, so we recruit.
“It’s a disappointment to me, personally, as a Western Australian-born and bred Wallaby that we largely continue to try and recruit and then bring professional players down into our amateur club comp.”
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